Spurious drugs worth Rs 1.74 crore seized in Odisha in two years: Minister

Bhubaneswar: Spurious drugs worth around Rs 1.74 crore were seized in Odisha in last two years, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Niranjan Pujari in the Assembly today.

The minister made this revelation while replying to a query of BJP MLA Kusum Tete in the House.

According to the minister, spurious drugs worth around Rs 98.61 lakh were seized in Odisha in 2021-22 fiscal. Similarly, fake medicines worth around Rs 74.76 lakh were seized in the state in 2022-23 financial year, said the minister.

Earlier, the BJP legislator had sought to know regarding the total value of fake medicines seized from different parts of Odisha in last two years. She also sought to know details about the raids conducted by the Drugs Inspector in Sundargarh and Jharsuguda and Sundargarh districts.

“What was the value of fake medicines seized in the two districts in the last two years,” asked the BJP MLA.

She also wanted to know how many people have been arrested in connection with the sale of spurious drugs in Odisha and what action has been taken against agencies involved in the illegal trade.

The Drugs Inspector had conducted raids in connection with the spurious drugs in Sundargarh district for the last time on February 2 and February 3 this year, said the minister in his reply.

The Drugs Inspector conducted raids in Jharsuguda district for the last time on January 21 and 25 this year, added the minister.

“The authorities concerned have seized fake medicines worth Rs 11,000 in Sundargarh district in 2021-22 fiscal and the amount was Rs 4,441 in 2022-23 financial year. Similarly, the authorities have seized spurious drugs worth Rs 41,691 in Jharsuguda district in 2021-22 fiscal. The figure was around Rs 1.15 lakh in Jharsuguda in 2022-23 fiscal,” said the minister.

At least 12 persons have been arrested and cases have been registered against 51 agencies in connection with the illegal trade in Odisha. Cases have been registered against highest number (8) of agencies in Cuttack district, added the minister.